What do Catholics mean....

....when they talk of "praying to Saints"? This is one of the big questions that non-Catholics always pose.

Here is a great explanation.

Prayers for Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta

Archbishop Gregory was installed in the archdiocese half-way through our 5 year stay in Atlanta and I came to love and appreciate his manner in shepherding our Southern flock.

He disclosed in his recent weekly column in the archdiocesan paper that he has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer and will undergo surgery on November 5th at Emory.

Keep this good man in your prayers.

What do Catholics mean....

....when they talk of "praying to Saints"? This is one of the big questions that non-Catholics always pose.

Here is a great explanation.

Letting God on the bus.

Excellent piece from this morning's Globe and Mail on the wierdness around religion in (Canadian) public space. [May require registration.]

Prayers for Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta

Archbishop Gregory was installed in the archdiocese half-way through our 5 year stay in Atlanta and I came to love and appreciate his manner in shepherding our Southern flock.

He disclosed in his recent weekly column in the archdiocesan paper that he has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer and will undergo surgery on November 5th at Emory.

Keep this good man in your prayers.

Letting God on the bus.

Excellent piece from this morning's Globe and Mail on the wierdness around religion in (Canadian) public space. [May require registration.]

Singing again

I am sufficiently recovered from my cold that I was able to be back in the choir loft yesterday. We sang in English this week! During the Offertory, we did Ned Rorem's Sing, My Soul and during Communion, Teach Me, O Lord by Attwood (I think....or maybe Byrd).

We're working on a couple of longer pieces over the next few weeks:

• Salve Regina by Francesco Cavalli (excerpt in mp3)
  This is written for ATTB (pdf) so Altos are singing Tenor I down an octave. This is a bit difficult for me from a reading perspective, so I may need to transcribe the notes on the score.
  
• Salvator Mundi (pdf score)(mp3) by Thomas Tallis
• In Paradisum (Real Audio) by Maurice Durufle from his Requiem. This has a wonderfully angelic sound, and accompanies these word (translated):
  

• May angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

The recessional hymn was a beautiful arrangement (from the hymnal) of Hail Holy Queen (not the Sister Act one!)

Singing again

I am sufficiently recovered from my cold that I was able to be back in the choir loft yesterday. We sang in English this week! During the Offertory, we did Ned Rorem's Sing, My Soul and during Communion, Teach Me, O Lord by Attwood (I think....or maybe Byrd).

We're working on a couple of longer pieces over the next few weeks:

• Salve Regina by Francesco Cavalli (excerpt in mp3)
  This is written for ATTB (pdf) so Altos are singing Tenor I down an octave. This is a bit difficult for me from a reading perspective, so I may need to transcribe the notes on the score.
  
• Salvator Mundi (pdf score)(mp3) by Thomas Tallis
• In Paradisum (Real Audio) by Maurice Durufle from his Requiem. This has a wonderfully angelic sound, and accompanies these word (translated):
  

• May angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

The recessional hymn was a beautiful arrangement (from the hymnal) of Hail Holy Queen (not the Sister Act one!)

No singing for me today

I am suffering with a lousy cold this weekend. So no mass and no choir for me today.

We have house guests arriving for a week on Wednesday and I have a lot to do, but I will take it easy for one more day. The lads moved some furniture for me yesterday which is great, so we're pretty much set for our extended family dinner party next weekend.

On the bright side, my aversion to food has knocked me down 2 pounds, even though I have been basically immobile for the past 36 hours. And I finished Duddy Kravitz.

No singing for me today

I am suffering with a lousy cold this weekend. So no mass and no choir for me today.

We have house guests arriving for a week on Wednesday and I have a lot to do, but I will take it easy for one more day. The lads moved some furniture for me yesterday which is great, so we're pretty much set for our extended family dinner party next weekend.

On the bright side, my aversion to food has knocked me down 2 pounds, even though I have been basically immobile for the past 36 hours. And I finished Duddy Kravitz.

Food, frugality, and Dwight Schrute

For all you The Office fans, and even those who aren't. This is a very funny post titled "11 Things Dwight K. Schrute Has Taught Me About Food and Frugality".

For example:

DWIGHT SAYS: “My grandfather left me a 60-acre working beet farm. I run it with my cousin Mose. We sell beets to the local stores and restaurants. It’s a nice little farm ... sometimes teenagers use it for sex.”
DWIGHT MEANS: Buy local.
Not only does it support neighborhood farmers (who need security to keep randy kids away), but food that’s shipped from nearby tastes better, is better for you, and is easier on the environment.

Food, frugality, and Dwight Schrute

For all you The Office fans, and even those who aren't. This is a very funny post titled "11 Things Dwight K. Schrute Has Taught Me About Food and Frugality".

For example:

DWIGHT SAYS: “My grandfather left me a 60-acre working beet farm. I run it with my cousin Mose. We sell beets to the local stores and restaurants. It’s a nice little farm ... sometimes teenagers use it for sex.”
DWIGHT MEANS: Buy local.
Not only does it support neighborhood farmers (who need security to keep randy kids away), but food that’s shipped from nearby tastes better, is better for you, and is easier on the environment.

Reading with Alex

It's been a rough fall for my 15 year old. With our move back to Canada, he started Grade 11 in a new school. The marking is different, the cliques are difficult to break into, and he hasn't really found his "groove" yet.

A year or so ago, I started reading the novels that he was studying in literature class so that I could give him a hand in thinking and writing. Lit has always been his weakest class. Last year, he was placed in a gifted lit class in a year above his because of the International Baccalaureate tracking at his former school. By reading the novels with him, he could discuss them with me. It's a fine balance. I (obviously) don't write his essays (although I often proof them) but sometimes he doesn't "get" the book. Or a part of the book.

He's just started his first novel for the year, as the first part of the semester was spent writing. I dropped by my local Half Price Books and picked up another copy of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, a Canadian classic that I have never read (although I loved the movie with Richard Dreyfuss in the title role.)

Last evening, after dinner, we sat together on the sofa in the living room and read, silently, side by side. It's not easy to spend quiet time with either of my boys, and this was very relaxing and enjoyable. We agreed that we'd try to get an hour's reading in each night until the novel was done (required by the end of the month).

Reading with Alex

It's been a rough fall for my 15 year old. With our move back to Canada, he started Grade 11 in a new school. The marking is different, the cliques are difficult to break into, and he hasn't really found his "groove" yet.

A year or so ago, I started reading the novels that he was studying in literature class so that I could give him a hand in thinking and writing. Lit has always been his weakest class. Last year, he was placed in a gifted lit class in a year above his because of the International Baccalaureate tracking at his former school. By reading the novels with him, he could discuss them with me. It's a fine balance. I (obviously) don't write his essays (although I often proof them) but sometimes he doesn't "get" the book. Or a part of the book.

He's just started his first novel for the year, as the first part of the semester was spent writing. I dropped by my local Half Price Books and picked up another copy of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, a Canadian classic that I have never read (although I loved the movie with Richard Dreyfuss in the title role.)

Last evening, after dinner, we sat together on the sofa in the living room and read, silently, side by side. It's not easy to spend quiet time with either of my boys, and this was very relaxing and enjoyable. We agreed that we'd try to get an hour's reading in each night until the novel was done (required by the end of the month).

The fight against consumerism

This is an area that I've struggled with for a long time. I'm one of those "next new things" kinda gals. My eyes are attracted (distracted?) by the shiny and fresh. I like technology, design, efficiency, and, well, newness. This is diabolical recipe for accumulating a LOT of stuff.

Zen Habits never fails to make me think. Daily. And today, a guest blogger provides "9 Tips to Throw off the Chains of Consumerism." He begins by reminding us

You already have everything you need. Those of us lucky enough to have been born in this time period in the Western world are experiencing an abundance few of our ancestors could have claimed. Food, clean water, shelter, law and order are almost guaranteed.

Why doesn’t it feel this way? Despite this amazing abundance, why are so many people dissatisfied? Are we doomed to always want more than we have, even if it won’t bring us more happiness?

Go there to read the rest (and get the 9 tips!).

"Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story"

This is a must-read. It's the serialised true story of how one of my favorite bloggers met her cowboy husband and realised that love and life can happen outside of LA.

It is hilarious. She is a fabulous writer and has kept hundreds of readers captivated over the past few weeks, doling out an episode every day or so.

She has just organized the material to date in one spot, so head on over and be prepared to laugh!

The fight against consumerism

This is an area that I've struggled with for a long time. I'm one of those "next new things" kinda gals. My eyes are attracted (distracted?) by the shiny and fresh. I like technology, design, efficiency, and, well, newness. This is diabolical recipe for accumulating a LOT of stuff.

Zen Habits never fails to make me think. Daily. And today, a guest blogger provides "9 Tips to Throw off the Chains of Consumerism." He begins by reminding us

You already have everything you need. Those of us lucky enough to have been born in this time period in the Western world are experiencing an abundance few of our ancestors could have claimed. Food, clean water, shelter, law and order are almost guaranteed.

Why doesn’t it feel this way? Despite this amazing abundance, why are so many people dissatisfied? Are we doomed to always want more than we have, even if it won’t bring us more happiness?

Go there to read the rest (and get the 9 tips!).

"Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story"

This is a must-read. It's the serialised true story of how one of my favorite bloggers met her cowboy husband and realised that love and life can happen outside of LA.

It is hilarious. She is a fabulous writer and has kept hundreds of readers captivated over the past few weeks, doling out an episode every day or so.

She has just organized the material to date in one spot, so head on over and be prepared to laugh!

Color Quiz: a little scary.

Janet took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Longs for a tender and sympathetic bond and for a ..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Color Quiz: a little scary.

Janet took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Longs for a tender and sympathetic bond and for a ..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Found: efficiency in the medical system

My new family doc here in Toronto strongly encouraged me to have regular mammograms, even though I'm not (quite) 50 yet. I had believed that for women 40-50, the evidence of increased survival due to mammography was not there, but he convinced me that in recent years, it's become clearly of benefit.

So I headed off to my local Screening Center for what turned out to be a very pleasant and quick procedure. I was at the clinic for all of 10 minutes. This included some initial paperwork, waist-up disrobing and gown, 4 thankfully quick xrays in the plexiglass vise(!), wait until they develop to make sure they're okay, dress and leave. The parking attendant didn't even charge me because I had only been in the lot for 15 minutes.

Now if the medical laboratory system could figure out a way to get me in and out for blood work in 15 minutes, I'd be even more happy.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cheese and spinach ravioli, rose sauce, homemade herb bread, carrot cake
Tuesday: Pad Thai with shrimp, fruit (apple and pear) puree
Wednesday: Faux chicken strips and veggies in korma sauce, rice, apple crisp
Thursday: Quiche (type TBD) and salad.
Friday: Chef's night off.

Found: efficiency in the medical system

My new family doc here in Toronto strongly encouraged me to have regular mammograms, even though I'm not (quite) 50 yet. I had believed that for women 40-50, the evidence of increased survival due to mammography was not there, but he convinced me that in recent years, it's become clearly of benefit.

So I headed off to my local Screening Center for what turned out to be a very pleasant and quick procedure. I was at the clinic for all of 10 minutes. This included some initial paperwork, waist-up disrobing and gown, 4 thankfully quick xrays in the plexiglass vise(!), wait until they develop to make sure they're okay, dress and leave. The parking attendant didn't even charge me because I had only been in the lot for 15 minutes.

Now if the medical laboratory system could figure out a way to get me in and out for blood work in 15 minutes, I'd be even more happy.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cheese and spinach ravioli, rose sauce, homemade herb bread, carrot cake
Tuesday: Pad Thai with shrimp, fruit (apple and pear) puree
Wednesday: Faux chicken strips and veggies in korma sauce, rice, apple crisp
Thursday: Quiche (type TBD) and salad.
Friday: Chef's night off.

Yahoo: who knew?

I'm (finally) finishing up Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. The protagonist travels to different lands where the inhabitants are significantly different from typical humans, in different ways. In the first land, they are small (Lilliputians). In another, large.

In the final voyage, the inhabitants are horse-like beings that are served by people-shaped beings called....well...yahoos. They are brutish beasts, with unpleasant demeanors, nasty habits, and no moral sense.

Sure enough, a quick look at the dictionary suggests that Swift's book is the origin of the word "yahoo".

Yahoo: who knew?

I'm (finally) finishing up Gulliver's Travels

by Jonathan Swift. The protagonist travels to different lands where the inhabitants are significantly different from typical humans, in different ways. In the first land, they are small (Lilliputians). In another, large.

In the final voyage, the inhabitants are horse-like beings that are served by people-shaped beings called....well...yahoos. They are brutish beasts, with unpleasant demeanors, nasty habits, and no moral sense.

Sure enough, a quick look at the dictionary suggests that Swift's book is the origin of the word "yahoo".

All Latin, all the time

I am loving our parish choir. I've sung three Sundays and, so far, all the music has been in Latin. Today we did a four-part Salve Regina by Josquin des Prez as the offertory hymn, and William Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus during Communion (recording by Coro Nostro here). I had never sung either of these, so the hour and a half practice before mass was it. I think that most of the choir had sung them before, so I am skating through on my sight-reading skills at the moment.

The choir loft is rather cramped and the seating is not well-laid out. For both of these pieces, we gathered around the organ in a semi-circle to better see our director and improve blending. We had a couple of fumbles, and the tempo of the Salve Regina was much faster than we rehearsed it, which threw us a bit. But the music is beautiful and lovely to sing.

The postlude was a spooky Marche Funebre by Louis Vierne that probably scared the babies waiting to be baptized after mass!

All Latin, all the time

I am loving our parish choir. I've sung three Sundays and, so far, all the music has been in Latin. Today we did a four-part Salve Regina by Josquin des Prez as the offertory hymn, and William Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus during Communion (recording by Coro Nostro here). I had never sung either of these, so the hour and a half practice before mass was it. I think that most of the choir had sung them before, so I am skating through on my sight-reading skills at the moment.

The choir loft is rather cramped and the seating is not well-laid out. For both of these pieces, we gathered around the organ in a semi-circle to better see our director and improve blending. We had a couple of fumbles, and the tempo of the Salve Regina was much faster than we rehearsed it, which threw us a bit. But the music is beautiful and lovely to sing.

The postlude was a spooky Marche Funebre by Louis Vierne that probably scared the babies waiting to be baptized after mass!

Eckhart on Holiness

Counsel 4 (from Counsels on Discernment) speaks "Of the profits of self-abandonment, which one should practice inwardly and outwardly." In particular, these words struck a chord:

People ought never to think too much about what they could do, but they ought to think about what they could be...We ought not to think of building holiness upon action; we ought to build it upon a way of being, for it is not what we do that makes us holy, but we ought to make holy what we do....as we are holy and have being, to that extent we make all our works holy, be it eating, sleeping, keeping vigil, or whatever they may be. (emphasis added)

In my current vocation as wife, mother, and keeper of the home, it is easy to bemoan the sameness, the drudgery, the lack of concrete results in so much of how I spend my day.

Kathleen Norris' little book The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work speaks exactly to this. She compares women's work to liturgy...acts that are repeated and that can have a contemplative aspect that is often overlooked. Acts that can be transforming and holy.

I haven't come across my copy in our unpacking yet, but I'm due to read it again. It's slim, at only 89 pages, but an inspiring read for all who mother.

Eckhart on Holiness

Counsel 4 (from Counsels on Discernment) speaks "Of the profits of self-abandonment, which one should practice inwardly and outwardly." In particular, these words struck a chord:

People ought never to think too much about what they could do, but they ought to think about what they could be...We ought not to think of building holiness upon action; we ought to build it upon a way of being, for it is not what we do that makes us holy, but we ought to make holy what we do....as we are holy and have being, to that extent we make all our works holy, be it eating, sleeping, keeping vigil, or whatever they may be. (emphasis added)

In my current vocation as wife, mother, and keeper of the home, it is easy to bemoan the sameness, the drudgery, the lack of concrete results in so much of how I spend my day.

Kathleen Norris' little book The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work speaks exactly to this. She compares women's work to liturgy...acts that are repeated and that can have a contemplative aspect that is often overlooked. Acts that can be transforming and holy.

I haven't come across my copy in our unpacking yet, but I'm due to read it again. It's slim, at only 89 pages, but an inspiring read for all who mother.

My 100 Acre Personality

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

H/T to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

My 100 Acre Personality

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

H/T to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Big Declutter

With Z off work this week, we have big plans to get the house in some semblance of order for visitors later this month.

We've ordered new broadloom to replace the filth that was in this house when we bought it. (Oh, and it is a filthy bright yellow carpet. I think this was the first thing that Z told me about the house...that it would have to go immediately.) The carpet covers the entire second floor plus four flights of stairs. Home Depot has this interesting product called Puresque that apparently helps to clean the air in the house, and that's what we've ordered. It likely will not get installed before visitors arrive, but definitely before Christmas. We will tackle removing the old carpet ourselves, so if you have any pointers, leave them in the comments!

On Sunday, we went through Z's clothing. I gently encouraged him to bless others with things that he no longer wears, either due to fit, style, or wear. It is not easy for him to part with clothing, particularly "good" things even if he hasn't worn them for years, or dislikes them. I dropped two large green bags of clothing off at Goodwill today, and our closet is much lighter. (I am very good at keeping up on clothing management, and I don't buy a lot, so my stuff is already minimal.) We will install some modular shelving over the next few weeks, much like we've used in previous houses. It's amazing how much space you can create simply by organizing your storage space. This should let us get what was our Atlanta garage shelving (and is now holding excess clothing) out of our bedroom....ahem.

Last night and this morning, we installed a new sink and faucet set in our basement bathroom (which will be used by our house guests.) The previous one was white enamel and had huge gouges in it where you could see the black metal underneath. Plus a sloppy touch-up job. So it looks 100% better now. It's only our second time doing this kind of plumbing, but it was easy and cheap. The actual hardware cost just over $100 for both pieces plus a couple of plumbing bits, and with self-install, it can't be beat!

Tomorrow, we have some movers coming to deliver our dining room table to a local woodworking shop to have it resized. We originally bought the table for our dining room two houses ago. It is a harvest style with a hand-planed top and rope trim on the apron, but is nine feet of solid wood, and doesn't fit in our current house. The table-top has been wrapped in moving blankets and leaning against the fireplace in the living room. We are having it shortened to five feet and will have two leaves made with the left-over top. It seems like a lot of expense, but we have 10 chairs and a buffet that go with it, all in the same Canadiana style. Plus, we love it.

The same movers are also taking a three-piece set of leather furniture that was bought for us by Zs employer in Atlanta when we were first in the city. We're lending it (probably permanently) to one of Z's cousins for his basement. This moving will let us re-arrange the rest of our belongings and free up the guest bedroom that, to now, has been stuffed with extra furniture. Or, at least, it will get us quite the distance there.

I think I'm moving past the grieving stage with this downsizing and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This will be a great house when it's organized and not cluttered and stuffed. We're getting there.

Big Declutter

With Z off work this week, we have big plans to get the house in some semblance of order for visitors later this month.

We've ordered new broadloom to replace the filth that was in this house when we bought it. (Oh, and it is a filthy bright yellow carpet. I think this was the first thing that Z told me about the house...that it would have to go immediately.) The carpet covers the entire second floor plus four flights of stairs. Home Depot has this interesting product called Puresque that apparently helps to clean the air in the house, and that's what we've ordered. It likely will not get installed before visitors arrive, but definitely before Christmas. We will tackle removing the old carpet ourselves, so if you have any pointers, leave them in the comments!

On Sunday, we went through Z's clothing. I gently encouraged him to bless others with things that he no longer wears, either due to fit, style, or wear. It is not easy for him to part with clothing, particularly "good" things even if he hasn't worn them for years, or dislikes them. I dropped two large green bags of clothing off at Goodwill today, and our closet is much lighter. (I am very good at keeping up on clothing management, and I don't buy a lot, so my stuff is already minimal.) We will install some modular shelving over the next few weeks, much like we've used in previous houses. It's amazing how much space you can create simply by organizing your storage space. This should let us get what was our Atlanta garage shelving (and is now holding excess clothing) out of our bedroom....ahem.

Last night and this morning, we installed a new sink and faucet set in our basement bathroom (which will be used by our house guests.) The previous one was white enamel and had huge gouges in it where you could see the black metal underneath. Plus a sloppy touch-up job. So it looks 100% better now. It's only our second time doing this kind of plumbing, but it was easy and cheap. The actual hardware cost just over $100 for both pieces plus a couple of plumbing bits, and with self-install, it can't be beat!

Tomorrow, we have some movers coming to deliver our dining room table to a local woodworking shop to have it resized. We originally bought the table for our dining room two houses ago. It is a harvest style with a hand-planed top and rope trim on the apron, but is nine feet of solid wood, and doesn't fit in our current house. The table-top has been wrapped in moving blankets and leaning against the fireplace in the living room. We are having it shortened to five feet and will have two leaves made with the left-over top. It seems like a lot of expense, but we have 10 chairs and a buffet that go with it, all in the same Canadiana style. Plus, we love it.

The same movers are also taking a three-piece set of leather furniture that was bought for us by Zs employer in Atlanta when we were first in the city. We're lending it (probably permanently) to one of Z's cousins for his basement. This moving will let us re-arrange the rest of our belongings and free up the guest bedroom that, to now, has been stuffed with extra furniture. Or, at least, it will get us quite the distance there.

I think I'm moving past the grieving stage with this downsizing and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This will be a great house when it's organized and not cluttered and stuffed. We're getting there.

Canadian, and wanna watch one of your fave US TV shows online? Ixnay.

I fell asleep before "Brothers and Sisters" started last night. Usually, I have my Tivo backup and I just watch it the next day. But Z pre-empted me so that he could record Elizabeth so I didn't have it.

I went to the ABC website to catch the episode online and it turns out you have to be living in the US to see the videos. Dang! I guess there's no way I can hide my location.

Now I'll have to see if I can find a re-run and record it.

Canadian, and wanna watch one of your fave US TV shows online? Ixnay.

I fell asleep before "Brothers and Sisters" started last night. Usually, I have my Tivo backup and I just watch it the next day. But Z pre-empted me so that he could record Elizabeth so I didn't have it.

I went to the ABC website to catch the episode online and it turns out you have to be living in the US to see the videos. Dang! I guess there's no way I can hide my location.

Now I'll have to see if I can find a re-run and record it.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Z and Michael cooking....all I know is that there is a salmon filet in the fridge!
Tuesday: Cheesy tuna casserole, grilled zucchini, salad.
Wednesday: Shrimp curry on rice, veggies.
Thursday: Homemade pizza, salad
Friday: Take out middle eastern from our new fave local restaurant, Le Gourmet Cafe Shawarma.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Z and Michael cooking....all I know is that there is a salmon filet in the fridge!
Tuesday: Cheesy tuna casserole, grilled zucchini, salad.
Wednesday: Shrimp curry on rice, veggies.
Thursday: Homemade pizza, salad
Friday: Take out middle eastern from our new fave local restaurant, Le Gourmet Cafe Shawarma.

Eckhart on Obedience

The first part of this book is called "Counsels on Discernment" and are conversations that Eckhart had with young men who asked him about things as they sat at "collation" (meals).

Counsel 1 is titled "About True Obedience" and I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days. In particular

In true obedience there should be no trace of "I want it so, or so," or "I want this or that," but there should be a pure going out from what is yours. And therefore, in the best of all prayers that a man can pray, there should not be "Give me this virtue, or that way of life," or "Yes, Lord, give me yourself, or give me everlasting life," but "Lord, give me nothing but what you will, and do, Lord, whatever and however you will in every way." (emphasis added)

So how does this play out in real life? Does the Lord know what is on my heart, those things that are burdening me and that I talk to him about on a regular basis? Should I stop naming them and asking for resolution?

Perhaps I name them, and ask that his will be done. That I will accept whatever he places before me in these situations. And be obedient to his will.

Giving thanks for rest from meal prep

Z is taking this week off to get some stuff down around the house. He loves to cook, but typically isn't home in time to help out during the week. He's been doing some cooking on weekends, when I arrive late home from mass because of choir etc.

But this weekend, perhaps feeling good about his upcoming week off, he decided to plan the three dinners (Sat, Sun, and Mon) and enlisted Michael to help out. They planned, did all the shopping, and prepared the first of three great meals last night.

We had deep fried calamari, an artichoke-tomato-black olive tapenade on slices of toasted french bread, and roasted potatoes and zucchini. We were supposed to have broiled salmon but we were all too full at that point so it's still in the fridge. We ended with apple-pear-sauce using some of our beautiful fresh Ontario fruit. (I helped out with the stand mixer food strainer attachment.) And a couple of glasses of Argento, an Argentinian red wine (Malbec), that Z enjoyed on a number of Air Canada flights.

Tonight is homemade pizza. I helped out with getting the bread maker set up to make the dough, but otherwise, I'm hands off. Tomorrow is tuna casserole.

I'm so lucky!

Eckhart on Obedience

The first part of this book

is called "Counsels on Discernment" and are conversations that Eckhart had with young men who asked him about things as they sat at "collation" (meals).

Counsel 1 is titled "About True Obedience" and I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days. In particular

In true obedience there should be no trace of "I want it so, or so," or "I want this or that," but there should be a pure going out from what is yours. And therefore, in the best of all prayers that a man can pray, there should not be "Give me this virtue, or that way of life," or "Yes, Lord, give me yourself, or give me everlasting life," but "Lord, give me nothing but what you will, and do, Lord, whatever and however you will in every way." (emphasis added)

So how does this play out in real life? Does the Lord know what is on my heart, those things that are burdening me and that I talk to him about on a regular basis? Should I stop naming them and asking for resolution?

Perhaps I name them, and ask that his will be done. That I will accept whatever he places before me in these situations. And be obedient to his will.

Giving thanks for rest from meal prep

Z is taking this week off to get some stuff down around the house. He loves to cook, but typically isn't home in time to help out during the week. He's been doing some cooking on weekends, when I arrive late home from mass because of choir etc.

But this weekend, perhaps feeling good about his upcoming week off, he decided to plan the three dinners (Sat, Sun, and Mon) and enlisted Michael to help out. They planned, did all the shopping, and prepared the first of three great meals last night.

We had deep fried calamari, an artichoke-tomato-black olive tapenade on slices of toasted french bread, and roasted potatoes and zucchini. We were supposed to have broiled salmon but we were all too full at that point so it's still in the fridge. We ended with apple-pear-sauce using some of our beautiful fresh Ontario fruit. (I helped out with the stand mixer food strainer attachment.) And a couple of glasses of Argento, an Argentinian red wine (Malbec), that Z enjoyed on a number of Air Canada flights.

Tonight is homemade pizza. I helped out with getting the bread maker set up to make the dough, but otherwise, I'm hands off. Tomorrow is tuna casserole.

I'm so lucky!

Intro to Eckhart

Last night I began reading Meister Eckhart: Selections from His Essential Writings. I began with the foreward, by John O'Donohue, a beautiful piece of writing and excellent foretaste of what I hope to experience as I read Eckhart's writing.

A couple of snippets.

Thoughts are the crevices where the vast silence of Being is voiced. In an archaic sense, to think is to participate in the mind of God.

and

Eckhart says the soul has two faces: one that is permanently turned toward God, and another that always faces the world. The creative and critical negotiation of the tension between these two faces is the secret force that animates all his thinking.

Also

The divine is not a distant goal toward which one must perennially labor like some haunted Sisyphus. There is nothing nearer to us than the divine; we need only slip into rhythm with it.

"We need only slip into rhythm with it." That is what I need to do.

Intro to Eckhart

Last night I began reading Meister Eckhart: Selections from His Essential Writings

. I began with the foreward, by John O'Donohue, a beautiful piece of writing and excellent foretaste of what I hope to experience as I read Eckhart's writing.

A couple of snippets.

Thoughts are the crevices where the vast silence of Being is voiced. In an archaic sense, to think is to participate in the mind of God.

and

Eckhart says the soul has two faces: one that is permanently turned toward God, and another that always faces the world. The creative and critical negotiation of the tension between these two faces is the secret force that animates all his thinking.

Also

The divine is not a distant goal toward which one must perennially labor like some haunted Sisyphus. There is nothing nearer to us than the divine; we need only slip into rhythm with it.

"We need only slip into rhythm with it." That is what I need to do.

Lesson for the day: Focus

From Stacks and Stacks Clutter Control:

So many times, we are so overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to be accomplished that we do not know where to start and we find ourselves running around in circles. We try to become super human by trying to have the perfect lifestyle and we take on too much. Then we wonder why we never finish tasks or really accomplish things to the best of our ability.

For some unknown reason, we seem to think that if we are doing three things at one time that we are really accomplishing things in record time. This is the time to step back and reassess. We need to learn how to FOCUS on the task at hand. One job plus one thought, equals one accomplishment that is well done. Pick out your number one priority task and stick with it until it is totally accomplished.

This has been my life for the past 3 months. So much in the house is unfinished because I have been trying to do everything at one. The post has some good tips for improving task focus.

Habit formation

I've been reading a lot lately about the importance of goals and habits: about how to ingrain habits so that they become natural parts of one's daily routine.

A few years ago, at the urging of FlyLady, I started making my bed every day. Not waiting for Z to make it. Not crawling into an unmade bed. Just doing it as soon as I could each morning. This was not a habit that I had established as a child, teen or young-ish adult. I had never done it consistently. Now, I do it without thinking. If I'm in my room and the bed is not made, I take the 20 seconds and do it on auto-pilot.

There are some other things that I need to get into my auto-pilot. I'm most of the way there with the dog-walking. I am an early riser, usually the first one up (unless Z has insomnia) and so I throw on my exercise clothes and take Wilson out for a 20 minute power-walk around our neighborhood. He's a yapper and very territorial, so I have no security worries. But it gets me going in the morning and, when I return, I still have time for my first cup of coffee and the newspaper before the hordes awaken.

I have a couple of other habits that I am still trying to get going. I joined Curves a couple of weeks ago and I need to make sure that I get there at least 3 times per week. I have also been toying with the habit touted by Bob Greene and Oprah of not eating 3 hours before bedtime, which for me is about 8 pm. I have done this in the past for short bursts, and know that anything I eat after 8 is typically not required and loaded with fat and/or sugar.

A helpful (and free) web app to help with habit formation is Joe's Goals. It lets you enter goals or habits, assign point values, and then track your progress over time. I've entered my three goals (dog-walking, Curves, eating after 8), with the first two expressed as positive goals, and third as a negative goal. I am giving myself two points every time I go to Curves, and one point (plus or minus) for the other two. I'm posting my little graph on my sidebar (over to the right) as a visual reminder and accountability technique!

Lesson for the day: Focus

From Stacks and Stacks Clutter Control:

So many times, we are so overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to be accomplished that we do not know where to start and we find ourselves running around in circles. We try to become super human by trying to have the perfect lifestyle and we take on too much. Then we wonder why we never finish tasks or really accomplish things to the best of our ability.

For some unknown reason, we seem to think that if we are doing three things at one time that we are really accomplishing things in record time. This is the time to step back and reassess. We need to learn how to FOCUS on the task at hand. One job plus one thought, equals one accomplishment that is well done. Pick out your number one priority task and stick with it until it is totally accomplished.

This has been my life for the past 3 months. So much in the house is unfinished because I have been trying to do everything at one. The post has some good tips for improving task focus.

Habit formation

I've been reading a lot lately about the importance of goals and habits: about how to ingrain habits so that they become natural parts of one's daily routine.

A few years ago, at the urging of FlyLady, I started making my bed every day. Not waiting for Z to make it. Not crawling into an unmade bed. Just doing it as soon as I could each morning. This was not a habit that I had established as a child, teen or young-ish adult. I had never done it consistently. Now, I do it without thinking. If I'm in my room and the bed is not made, I take the 20 seconds and do it on auto-pilot.

There are some other things that I need to get into my auto-pilot. I'm most of the way there with the dog-walking. I am an early riser, usually the first one up (unless Z has insomnia) and so I throw on my exercise clothes and take Wilson out for a 20 minute power-walk around our neighborhood. He's a yapper and very territorial, so I have no security worries. But it gets me going in the morning and, when I return, I still have time for my first cup of coffee and the newspaper before the hordes awaken.

I have a couple of other habits that I am still trying to get going. I joined Curves a couple of weeks ago and I need to make sure that I get there at least 3 times per week. I have also been toying with the habit touted by Bob Greene and Oprah of not eating 3 hours before bedtime, which for me is about 8 pm. I have done this in the past for short bursts, and know that anything I eat after 8 is typically not required and loaded with fat and/or sugar.

A helpful (and free) web app to help with habit formation is Joe's Goals. It lets you enter goals or habits, assign point values, and then track your progress over time. I've entered my three goals (dog-walking, Curves, eating after 8), with the first two expressed as positive goals, and third as a negative goal. I am giving myself two points every time I go to Curves, and one point (plus or minus) for the other two. I'm posting my little graph on my sidebar (over to the right) as a visual reminder and accountability technique!

Need a new identity?

Some fun via ukok:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)

Tammy Accord

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)

Butter Pecan Shortbread

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME:(first letter of first name, first three letters of last name)

Jan-Ber

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)

Elizabeth Ottawa

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)

Berja

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)

The Purple Cola

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)

Maurice William

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )

Janet (my father didn't have a middle name, and mom's middle is my first...so this really doesn't work well as a witness protection name!).

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)

Cohen Chicago

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)

Fall Orchid

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)

Mangotighty

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)

WaterElm (I'm fasting for blood work this morning....)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)

The Needlework BreezeTour

Need a new identity?

Some fun via ukok:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)

Tammy Accord

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)

Butter Pecan Shortbread

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME:(first letter of first name, first three letters of last name)

Jan-Ber

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)

Elizabeth Ottawa

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)

Berja

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)

The Purple Cola

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)

Maurice William

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )

Janet (my father didn't have a middle name, and mom's middle is my first...so this really doesn't work well as a witness protection name!).

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)

Cohen Chicago

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)

Fall Orchid

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)

Mangotighty

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)

WaterElm (I'm fasting for blood work this morning....)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)

The Needlework BreezeTour

Uber Cool Nerd Queen, I am!

Why does this make me strangely proud?



h/t penni

Uber Cool Nerd Queen, I am!

Why does this make me strangely proud?

h/t penni

Dove Onslaught

This hit the business section of the Toronto Star today. Another very impressive addition to the Dove portfolio.

Dove Onslaught

This hit the business section of the Toronto Star today. Another very impressive addition to the Dove portfolio.

Nifty application for online shopping deals

Check out RetailMeNot.com. You can either get coupon codes from the site, or....if you're a Firefox user, check this out.

It adds a little extension to your browser. When you visit a shopping site, a popup bar appears telling you that there are coupon codes and lets you select one from a list. It also shows the success rate for each coupon.

I haven't actually purchased anything using one of their coupon codes, but I get the popup at major shopping venues. Don't know how many Canadian sites it works for, but cross-border shopping is looking pretty inexpensive to Canadians right now!

Quiche for dinner

We've been eating vegetarian-style at home since Michael gave up meat a couple of months ago, and are finding it very pleasant, not to mention easy on the budget. He still eats fish, seafood and dairy (although he is moving to soy milk as much as possible.)

In planning meals for this week, we had some eggs to use up, lots of broccoli, and a large package of smoked salmon that I got on sale, so I decided to make a quiche.

Allrecipes, my usual source for new recipes, didn't have anything. So I googled "quiche smoked salmon broccoli" and came up with a delicious sounding "Smoked Salmon Quiche" from the Timberholm Inn in Stowe, Vermont via the 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook (recipe here).

My frozen ready-made pie shell cracked on one of the edges during pre-cooking. I probably should have gone for the name-brand shells, but whatever. The quiche cooked very nicely, except that the egg mixture overflowed the crust during baking. I suspect brand-name shells may be a little deeper so they may in fact be a better choice.

But the recipe is a keeper....the boys each had seconds. Just a little bit left for my lunch tomorrow!

Online Bike Registry

BlogTO reports today on the new Toronto Police Services bike registry. Online registration is easy...you need your personal info (name, address, etc) plus your bike info (make, model serial number, colour, style).

Sounds like a job for the boys this weekend. Not that my beautiful bike has seen that much of Toronto yet, ahem.

Season's almost over

One of the huge advantages of living in Toronto is ready access, in major supermarkets, to local fruit. Now, I know that there's a faction of people out there who "eat-only-that-produced-within-100-km" or something. But hey....this is better than my experience south of the border.

Having spent five years in Georgia, I was lucky to find anything from my own state in a local supermarket produce department, or even from adjacent states (Florida oranges excluded). In all five years we were there, I NEVER tasted a peach as good as Ontario peaches, and the peach is the state fruit.

The boys are going through a couple of these 4 litre baskets of Bartlett pears a week. At about 18 pears for $4.99, that's about 28 cents apiece for an economical, healthy snack.

The season is almost over. I didn't think it was possible to tire of Ontario peaches, but we did. We gorged while we could.

Grape vines

When we first moved into the house back in July, we noticed some grape vines at the side of the house, over and around the porch. We both commented on how nice it would be to have a pergola over the deck covered in vines, blah, blah, blah.

We made a couple of half-hearted attempts to cut them back away from the maple tree at the edge of the property, but they have invaded the poor thing. I've called a couple of arborists to get estimates on removing the vines and disentangling them from the tree.

Here's the "before" picture. I'll post an "after" once the work is done.

Nifty application for online shopping deals

Check out RetailMeNot.com. You can either get coupon codes from the site, or....if you're a Firefox user, check this out.

It adds a little extension to your browser. When you visit a shopping site, a popup bar appears telling you that there are coupon codes and lets you select one from a list. It also shows the success rate for each coupon.

I haven't actually purchased anything using one of their coupon codes, but I get the popup at major shopping venues. Don't know how many Canadian sites it works for, but cross-border shopping is looking pretty inexpensive to Canadians right now!

Quiche for dinner

We've been eating vegetarian-style at home since Michael gave up meat a couple of months ago, and are finding it very pleasant, not to mention easy on the budget. He still eats fish, seafood and dairy (although he is moving to soy milk as much as possible.)

In planning meals for this week, we had some eggs to use up, lots of broccoli, and a large package of smoked salmon that I got on sale, so I decided to make a quiche.

Allrecipes, my usual source for new recipes, didn't have anything. So I googled "quiche smoked salmon broccoli" and came up with a delicious sounding "Smoked Salmon Quiche" from the Timberholm Inn in Stowe, Vermont via the 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook (recipe here).

My frozen ready-made pie shell cracked on one of the edges during pre-cooking. I probably should have gone for the name-brand shells, but whatever. The quiche cooked very nicely, except that the egg mixture overflowed the crust during baking. I suspect brand-name shells may be a little deeper so they may in fact be a better choice.

But the recipe is a keeper....the boys each had seconds. Just a little bit left for my lunch tomorrow!

Online Bike Registry

BlogTO reports today on the new Toronto Police Services bike registry. Online registration is easy...you need your personal info (name, address, etc) plus your bike info (make, model serial number, colour, style).

Sounds like a job for the boys this weekend. Not that my beautiful bike has seen that much of Toronto yet, ahem.

Season's almost over

One of the huge advantages of living in Toronto is ready access, in major supermarkets, to local fruit. Now, I know that there's a faction of people out there who "eat-only-that-produced-within-100-km" or something. But hey....this is better than my experience south of the border.

Having spent five years in Georgia, I was lucky to find anything from my own state in a local supermarket produce department, or even from adjacent states (Florida oranges excluded). In all five years we were there, I NEVER tasted a peach as good as Ontario peaches, and the peach is the state fruit.

The boys are going through a couple of these 4 litre baskets of Bartlett pears a week. At about 18 pears for $4.99, that's about 28 cents apiece for an economical, healthy snack.

The season is almost over. I didn't think it was possible to tire of Ontario peaches, but we did. We gorged while we could.

Grape vines

When we first moved into the house back in July, we noticed some grape vines at the side of the house, over and around the porch. We both commented on how nice it would be to have a pergola over the deck covered in vines, blah, blah, blah.

We made a couple of half-hearted attempts to cut them back away from the maple tree at the edge of the property, but they have invaded the poor thing. I've called a couple of arborists to get estimates on removing the vines and disentangling them from the tree.

Here's the "before" picture. I'll post an "after" once the work is done.

Disposable Pocket Planner

This nifty application lets you devise your own little 8-page pocket planner. The whole thing prints onto one letter-sized sheet of paper, and then with some clever folding, you've got your planner.

Check out The PocketMod.

Disposable Pocket Planner

This nifty application lets you devise your own little 8-page pocket planner. The whole thing prints onto one letter-sized sheet of paper, and then with some clever folding, you've got your planner.

Check out The PocketMod.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Seafood Lasagna (frozen, ready-made), steamed broccoli, salad
Tuesday: Smoked salmon and broccoli quiche (need a recipe for this).
Wednesday: Pasta with veggie meat sauce, salad
Thursday: Burgers (frozen, ready-made, meat or bean), guacamole and pico de gallo
Friday: Chef's night off - order in or take out

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Seafood Lasagna (frozen, ready-made), steamed broccoli, salad
Tuesday: Smoked salmon and broccoli quiche (need a recipe for this).
Wednesday: Pasta with veggie meat sauce, salad
Thursday: Burgers (frozen, ready-made, meat or bean), guacamole and pico de gallo
Friday: Chef's night off - order in or take out